A study of inflammatory diseases of external ear

Background: Inflammatory disease of external ear is one of the most common entities in otorhinolaryngological practice and is also frequently encountered in primary care. Due to the characteristic of its anatomical location, the external ear is exposed and easily damaged due to trauma, weathering, inflammation and environment.
Objective: Objective is to study different etiological factors, clinical features, to evaluate treatment modalities, results and complications.
Material and methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on 400 patients with inflammatory disease of external ear who will be undergoing ENT examination, diagnosis and treatment at Tertiary Care Center from the year 2020 to 2023.
Results: Out of 400 patients, the male-female ratio is 1.2:1, the most common aetiology is bacterial but most common condition is otomycosis. Earache is the most common symptoms among the patients and 74% of the patients recovered with medical management only and complication rate was 10% only.
Discussion: Commonest aetiology is otomycosis owing to hot and humid environment. Most common affected age group is younger may be because of environmental exposure. In most of the cases diagnosis was made to their clinical presentation and improved with conservative treatment so investigations were not required.